New Zealand comedians turned pop culture superstars Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi know a good idea when they see one. 

Their nose for sturdy dramatic and comedic premises has taken them from the beloved HBO musical comedy series Flight Of The Conchords to honest-to-goodness Marvel culture mainstays. Clement has starred on FX’s X-Men adjacent superhero drama Legion and Waititi messed around and made the best film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Thor: Ragnarok (you heard me). 

Now with Legion winding down and Waititi politely staying away from Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3, the pair are turning back to one of their older good ideas: vampire mockumentary What We Do In The Shadows. The story of vampires trying to adapt to the modern world while occasionally turning to talk directly to the camera worked just fine in 2014 so what’s keeping it from working again in 2019? Not a damn thing as it turns out.

While Clement and Waititi return as producers, they’ve ceded the roles of the chatty vampires to a new crop of talent. Any good comedy is only as good as its characters and any good vampire premise is only as good as its vampires. The series features three “traditional” blood-sucking aristocratic vamps in Nandor (Kayvan Novak), Nadja (Natasia Demetriou), and Laszlo (Matt Berry). It also features a different kind of vampire altogether: the energy vampire, Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch). 

We caught up with actors and comedians Kayvan Novak and Natasia Demetriou to discuss what it’s like to portray the undead, adapt a recent classic, and deal with energy vampires.

Den Of Geek: Can you tell me a bit about your characters Nandor and Nadja? What is it like playing these ancient beings in a modern world?

Kayvan Novak: I guess what I like about playing Nandor is that he’s kind of stiff and a bit goofy, and a bit awkward, and I feel that there’s an element of myself that is the same. I get to just magnify that, or embrace that fully without ever trying to feel that I’m being cool or having to be cool in any way. I can just be full Nandor with my hair down and my fangs in and my cape on. It’s kind of easy and it’s quite liberating, actually. I quite like it. I miss it. I’ve got to kind of look up pictures of Ryan Gosling and then try and copy what he’s wearing. It’s exhausting. I want to be Nandor, I don’t want to be me anymore.

Natasia Demetriou: I think it provided endless opportunities for me to try to funnier. Just the fact that they’ve been around for so long, and they’re so out of touch, but still think they are these powerful, almighty beings. It’s just so stupid and funny, Also she’s incredibly horny and she’s obsessed with blood, and she’s really thick, which is exactly like me. Those are my three character traits. It was so fun.

Had you guys been interested in vampires as monsters? I feel like every creative person has at least a brief a vampire phase.

ND: Mine was the Twilight books. I got deep into them.

KN: You got into that. I never really wanted to be a vampire. I kind of wanted to be Indiana Jones, or James Bond. Yeah. Ed Wood is one of my favorite movies, and I love the Bela Lugosi character in that, it wasn’t really something I ever played at. Having said that, watching (What We Do in the Shadows, the film) made me want to be a vampire.

ND: I remember seeing the trailer for the film and I was literally like “Well, they’ve done it. They’ve done it. They’ve thought of the funniest concept for a film possible. Wow. They’ve done it.” As for playing a vampire, I’m really clumsy and not vampire-like at all, so this is the perfect way to play a vampire. She is stupid. That’s my dream. So yeah, I would never have thought of playing a vampire before, because they’re like, action. They’re like Lara Croft, and I’m Lara Loft. Zara Loft.

I think when people say they want to be a vampire, what they’re saying is “I just want to be hot.”

ND: Well that’s the thing. That’s not what I’ve ever tried. I think trying to be hot is the antithesis of trying to be funny. If you’re aware of what you look like, or you’re trying to… you can’t be truly funny.

Speaking of sexy and funny, what is it like having Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi as producers?

ND: Hello! It was very hard for me. I was incredibly aroused the entire time. When you meet someone that you would do anything for, and you’re performing for them and they’ve hired you to perform, it makes every day just so easy. (Kayvan) had a boner the whole time.

KN: I did.

What kind of takeaways did you have from the original film? Did you think a TV show based on it was even possible?

ND: “They need to work on this, make it into a TV show, and cast new people in it.” That was my review when I saw the film. No, it was just, as I said, I saw the trailer and was like “How have these men, this sort of collective, done it again?” Everything they’ve done I’ve been such a fan of, and it was like “Oh my God, of course! A vampire mockumentary, that’s such a funny idea!” I was a huge fan.

KN: The spirit that they bring to what they do, working together, is I think what people love. (Jemaine and Taika) love what they do, and I think that runs through this incredibly, because they have each other to play off and bounce off, and make sure the other one isn’t getting too fucking indulgent. You know what I mean? They’re kind of pushing each other in the right direction to be funnier and funnier. They’ve just got such an amazing kind of New Zealand sensibility about things. That just shows, and it’s… I think that kind of appeals to us because we’re from the UK, you know, which is the same kind of “be modest” (humour).

ND: Put yourself down.

KN: Can’t be as sharp, put yourself down, don’t be afraid to be ugly.  The things that kind of British comedy do well. Grotesques. And, you know, we’re vampires.

ND: And they’re just very naturally funny people, so just lovely to be around.

What was your reaction to the show’s US setting – Staten Island specifically? 

ND: It’s funny because in England, I know I grew up thinking of America as this magical place where the funniest best people are with the best food and the best toys and stuff. So it makes sense to me that, you know, if they were sent somewhere to conquer, it would be the US because it’s this consumerist, capitalist dream. So it’s being a little stupid half-Greek girl being like “Oh my God, I want to go to America and eat pizza and see Kevin, be in Home Alone, meet Ross and Rachel.” To me it was really fitting.

KN: I guess, you know, it’s a nation of immigrants and (our characters) are the most extreme form of immigrants, they’re vampires. I guess it’s just a contrast, ’cause they’re all from Transylvania and when we met the characters from the UK it was English. You need that contrast, and I guess it’s a bigger, more intimidating place to live than New Zealand.

ND: I think it’s funnier to be these stupid European idiots around these American people who are just like “What the fuck?”

What is it like working within the mockumentary format? It was all over the place for a long time on television, particularly American television. I’m just wondering how that informs your performances and what it’s like to just talk to the camera every now and again?

KN: It’s very informal. You don’t ever feel like you’re doing the same thing again. It keeps it very fresh. You’re not going “Same scene, different setup. Same scene, different setup.” Do you know what I mean? It’s a constant evolution of our performance. It was just captured in a very relaxed way, where you’re not even thinking about a camera, or you are, because you want to shoot a look at the camera. Other than that, you’re not like “It’s my close-up time.”

ND: They had to keep reminding us that we’re allowed to look at the camera, and we’re allowed to acknowledge the camera’s there. I think mockumentaries are such well-trodden grounds for comedies. It has been done a lot, but it is because of that informal nature, it’s such a fertile ground to be funny. There’s not this “Now you’re close-up, now you’re at this wide shot.” I just hope that the sort of supernatural element of our show gives new light to the mockumentary style, because it’s not just “We’re going to capture a mundane setting with a camera.” We’re turning into bats or we’re flying and it’s just done in that deadpan documentary style.

How did you feel about the addition of Mark Proksch’s character, Colin Robinson – the “emotional vampire?”

ND: Oh, so funny. Every time (Mark) would come in and do a line, he’s instantly winning. He’s instantly the funniest thing in this room, because it’s such a dumb character. It’s so funny.

KN: It was pretty spirit crushing.

ND: He made me corpse so much, off set!

KN: He’s basically the best thing in it.

What are you most excited for people to see in this upcoming season?

KN: Mark Proksch.

ND: Mark Proksch.

What We Do in the Shadows debuts on FX on Wednesday the 27th of March in the US and on BBC Two here in the UK at a later date.

New Zealand comedians turned pop culture superstars Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi know a good idea when they see one. 

Their nose for sturdy dramatic and comedic premises has taken them from the beloved HBO musical comedy series Flight Of The Conchords to honest-to-goodness Marvel culture mainstays. Clement has starred on FX’s X-Men adjacent superhero drama Legion and Waititi messed around and made the best film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Thor: Ragnarok (you heard me). 

Now with Legion winding down and Waititi politely staying away from Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3, the pair are turning back to one of their older good ideas: vampire mockumentary What We Do In The Shadows. The story of vampires trying to adapt to the modern world while occasionally turning to talk directly to the camera worked just fine in 2014 so what’s keeping it from working again in 2019? Not a damn thing as it turns out.

While Clement and Waititi return as producers, they’ve ceded the roles of the chatty vampires to a new crop of talent. Any good comedy is only as good as its characters and any good vampire premise is only as good as its vampires. The series features three “traditional” blood-sucking aristocratic vamps in Nandor (Kayvan Novak), Nadja (Natasia Demetriou), and Laszlo (Matt Berry). It also features a different kind of vampire altogether: the energy vampire, Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch). 

We caught up with actors and comedians Kayvan Novak and Natasia Demetriou to discuss what it’s like to portray the undead, adapt a recent classic, and deal with energy vampires.

Den Of Geek: Can you tell me a bit about your characters Nandor and Nadja? What is it like playing these ancient beings in a modern world?

Kayvan Novak: I guess what I like about playing Nandor is that he’s kind of stiff and a bit goofy, and a bit awkward, and I feel that there’s an element of myself that is the same. I get to just magnify that, or embrace that fully without ever trying to feel that I’m being cool or having to be cool in any way. I can just be full Nandor with my hair down and my fangs in and my cape on. It’s kind of easy and it’s quite liberating, actually. I quite like it. I miss it. I’ve got to kind of look up pictures of Ryan Gosling and then try and copy what he’s wearing. It’s exhausting. I want to be Nandor, I don’t want to be me anymore.

Natasia Demetriou: I think it provided endless opportunities for me to try to funnier. Just the fact that they’ve been around for so long, and they’re so out of touch, but still think they are these powerful, almighty beings. It’s just so stupid and funny, Also she’s incredibly horny and she’s obsessed with blood, and she’s really thick, which is exactly like me. Those are my three character traits. It was so fun.

Had you guys been interested in vampires as monsters? I feel like every creative person has at least a brief a vampire phase.

ND: Mine was the Twilight books. I got deep into them.

KN: You got into that. I never really wanted to be a vampire. I kind of wanted to be Indiana Jones, or James Bond. Yeah. Ed Wood is one of my favorite movies, and I love the Bela Lugosi character in that, it wasn’t really something I ever played at. Having said that, watching (What We Do in the Shadows, the film) made me want to be a vampire.

ND: I remember seeing the trailer for the film and I was literally like “Well, they’ve done it. They’ve done it. They’ve thought of the funniest concept for a film possible. Wow. They’ve done it.” As for playing a vampire, I’m really clumsy and not vampire-like at all, so this is the perfect way to play a vampire. She is stupid. That’s my dream. So yeah, I would never have thought of playing a vampire before, because they’re like, action. They’re like Lara Croft, and I’m Lara Loft. Zara Loft.

I think when people say they want to be a vampire, what they’re saying is “I just want to be hot.”

ND: Well that’s the thing. That’s not what I’ve ever tried. I think trying to be hot is the antithesis of trying to be funny. If you’re aware of what you look like, or you’re trying to… you can’t be truly funny.

Speaking of sexy and funny, what is it like having Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi as producers?

ND: Hello! It was very hard for me. I was incredibly aroused the entire time. When you meet someone that you would do anything for, and you’re performing for them and they’ve hired you to perform, it makes every day just so easy. (Kayvan) had a boner the whole time.

KN: I did.

What kind of takeaways did you have from the original film? Did you think a TV show based on it was even possible?

ND: “They need to work on this, make it into a TV show, and cast new people in it.” That was my review when I saw the film. No, it was just, as I said, I saw the trailer and was like “How have these men, this sort of collective, done it again?” Everything they’ve done I’ve been such a fan of, and it was like “Oh my God, of course! A vampire mockumentary, that’s such a funny idea!” I was a huge fan.

KN: The spirit that they bring to what they do, working together, is I think what people love. (Jemaine and Taika) love what they do, and I think that runs through this incredibly, because they have each other to play off and bounce off, and make sure the other one isn’t getting too fucking indulgent. You know what I mean? They’re kind of pushing each other in the right direction to be funnier and funnier. They’ve just got such an amazing kind of New Zealand sensibility about things. That just shows, and it’s… I think that kind of appeals to us because we’re from the UK, you know, which is the same kind of “be modest” (humour).

ND: Put yourself down.

KN: Can’t be as sharp, put yourself down, don’t be afraid to be ugly.  The things that kind of British comedy do well. Grotesques. And, you know, we’re vampires.

ND: And they’re just very naturally funny people, so just lovely to be around.

What was your reaction to the show’s US setting – Staten Island specifically? 

ND: It’s funny because in England, I know I grew up thinking of America as this magical place where the funniest best people are with the best food and the best toys and stuff. So it makes sense to me that, you know, if they were sent somewhere to conquer, it would be the US because it’s this consumerist, capitalist dream. So it’s being a little stupid half-Greek girl being like “Oh my God, I want to go to America and eat pizza and see Kevin, be in Home Alone, meet Ross and Rachel.” To me it was really fitting.

KN: I guess, you know, it’s a nation of immigrants and (our characters) are the most extreme form of immigrants, they’re vampires. I guess it’s just a contrast, ’cause they’re all from Transylvania and when we met the characters from the UK it was English. You need that contrast, and I guess it’s a bigger, more intimidating place to live than New Zealand.

ND: I think it’s funnier to be these stupid European idiots around these American people who are just like “What the fuck?”

What is it like working within the mockumentary format? It was all over the place for a long time on television, particularly American television. I’m just wondering how that informs your performances and what it’s like to just talk to the camera every now and again?

KN: It’s very informal. You don’t ever feel like you’re doing the same thing again. It keeps it very fresh. You’re not going “Same scene, different setup. Same scene, different setup.” Do you know what I mean? It’s a constant evolution of our performance. It was just captured in a very relaxed way, where you’re not even thinking about a camera, or you are, because you want to shoot a look at the camera. Other than that, you’re not like “It’s my close-up time.”

ND: They had to keep reminding us that we’re allowed to look at the camera, and we’re allowed to acknowledge the camera’s there. I think mockumentaries are such well-trodden grounds for comedies. It has been done a lot, but it is because of that informal nature, it’s such a fertile ground to be funny. There’s not this “Now you’re close-up, now you’re at this wide shot.” I just hope that the sort of supernatural element of our show gives new light to the mockumentary style, because it’s not just “We’re going to capture a mundane setting with a camera.” We’re turning into bats or we’re flying and it’s just done in that deadpan documentary style.

How did you feel about the addition of Mark Proksch’s character, Colin Robinson – the “emotional vampire?”

ND: Oh, so funny. Every time (Mark) would come in and do a line, he’s instantly winning. He’s instantly the funniest thing in this room, because it’s such a dumb character. It’s so funny.

KN: It was pretty spirit crushing.

ND: He made me corpse so much, off set!

KN: He’s basically the best thing in it.

What are you most excited for people to see in this upcoming season?

KN: Mark Proksch.

ND: Mark Proksch.

What We Do in the Shadows debuts on FX on Wednesday the 27th of March in the US and on BBC Two here in the UK at a later date.

Ever since they were first introduced in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the Knights of Ren have remained one of the most enigmatic groups of bad guys in the Star Wars universe. While they appeared in a flashback in Episode VII, Kylo Ren’s minions were nowhere to be found in The Last Jedi. Where the heck were they when the new Supreme Leader of the First Order was about to face off against Luke Skywalker on Crait?

A new rumor that’s popped up on Making Star Wars suggests that we’ll finally get the answers we’ve been looking for in Episode IX. In fact, the site has heard from its sources that the Knights of Ren will actually play a big part in the conflicts to come in the final installment of the Sequel Trilogy. While the following potential plot details are strictly rumours, Making Star Wars has a proven track record of Star Wars scoops. 

According to the new report, the reason the Knights of Ren were not present during the events of The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi is that they were in a place called “The Beyond.” While Making Star Wars doesn’t go into details about The Beyond itself, it’s possible that this place is located somewhere in the Unknown Regions, an uncharted part of the galaxy where the Empire retreated after its final defeat and rebuilt itself as the First Order. Or perhaps it’s somewhere beyond the edges of the galaxy itself…

Kylo apparently sent the Knights of Ren out to explore The Beyond, but they reportedly return in Episode IX after the Supreme Leader has consolidated his power across what used to be the New Republic. Here’s where things get interesting: according to Making Star Wars, a major threat to the galaxy arrives from The Beyond, an enemy that forces Kylo Ren and Rey to fight alongside each other once again. Going the Game of Thrones route, it sounds like the good guys and the bad guys will have to rally around a much bigger cause in order to repel the invaders.

Making Star Wars speculates that perhaps the Knights of Ren turn on their master and become the threat that both the First Order and the Resistance have to stop. But it’s unclear just how big this particular faction is, as only a small group has appeared in the movies. So it’s likely that the new enemy is a much bigger force that no one is expecting. Perhaps it followed the Knights of Ren back to their galaxy? 

There is precedence for this sort of invasion of the Star Wars universe. In fact, the old Legends canon had an entire maxi-series of books and comics back in 1999 called The New Jedi Order, which told the story of a massive alien invasion by Force-immune warriors known as the Yuuzhan Vong. The bloody war that proceeded claimed many lives, including Chewbacca’s, who died in one of the most epic scenes created in a Star Wars story.

The Disney era canon has also dropped hints that there might be something lying in wait beyond the known galaxy. The novel Star Wars Aftermath featured an interesting little tidbit about how the Emperor had sent Imperial agents to chart unknown parts of space because he believed the source of his dark side powers could be found out there. The implication at the time is that these beliefs were what prompted the Imperial remnant to retreat to the Unknown Regions after the end of the war. But what if his search was the precursor to the Knights of Ren’s journey to The Beyond?

This could be a huge gamechanger for the Star Wars universe, to say the least. With plenty of hanging plot threads left to tie up from the first two movies, the introduction of yet another major faction might end up being one twist too many, but it’s possible director J.J. Abrams already had this all planned out when he first set out to make The Force Awakens, a creative process that also involved Michael Arndt and an early collaboration with George Lucas himself. Introducing the Knights of Ren in The Force Awakens might have been a way to set up their much bigger role in Episode IX. 

Before you get ahead of yourself, it seems from the lack of even a proper title for the upcoming instalment that we’re still a few months away from learning any official plot details. That reveal will most likely happen at Star Wars Celebration in April. 

Star Wars: Episode IX opens in UK cinemas on 19 December.

A TV adaptation of Matt Haig’s bestselling book Reasons To Stay Alive is in the “very early stages of development” at UKTV, Deadline has revealed.

Two Brothers Pictures, who produce Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s critically acclaimed series Fleabag, are behind the new project, which seeks to turn Haig’s mis-20s depression memoir into a comedy drama show for the broadcaster.

The site notes that the book is packed with helpful lists, such as “things you think during your first panic attack”, “things you think during your 1,000th panic attack” and “things people say to depressives that they don’t say in other life-threatening situations”.

Here’s a wee synopsis:

“What does it mean to feel truly alive? Aged 24, Matt Haig’s world caved in. He could see no way to go on living. This is the true story of how he came through crisis, triumphed over an illness that almost destroyed him and learned to live again. A moving, funny and joyous exploration of how to live better, love better and feel more alive, Reasons To Stay Alive is more than a memoir. It is a book about making the most of your time on Earth.”

More on this as it develops…

The always-superbly-selling Weekly Shōnen Jump manga magazine has brought countless iconic characters to life over the years, including the stars of such anime shows as Dragon Ball Z and Yu-Gi-Oh! And now, to celebrate the mag’s 50th birthday, Bandai Namco Entertainment has thrust together fan favourite faces from Weekly Shōnen Jump’s manifold franchises into one massive fighting game.

Going by the title Jump Force, this title is sure to serve up heaps of fan service, with 40+ characters from the manga confirmed to appear. The story of the main campaign will see the real world colliding with the Shōnen Jump universes, prompting iconic heroes to team up in a newly formed ‘Jump Force’ and tackle the fiendish foes responsible.

Three-on-three tag-team content is the game’s central mechanic, and we got a good chance to check this out during a hands-on session (on a PS4) with Jump Force’s Versus mode. Separate from the main story, this mode allows you to pit any teams of three that you wish against each other in epic combat. We spent an hour and a half playing around in this mode, with the full roster of fighters, and this is how it went…

Without any tutorials to guide us, and without having the good sense to look at the combat controls on the pause menu, we jumped straight into a battle – we built a team around Son Goku from Dragon Ball Z and pitted him against an array of baddies including his old foe Frieza. And, well, we’re not ashamed to admit that we got absolutely thrashed.

If all you do is jump around and spam the colourful buttons on the front of your controller, you’re likely to get bested, and you’ll probably feel like you’re missing out on all the biggest moves. That’s because, as we learned after bothering to look at the menu, the key to unlocking the most powerful moves it to hold down the R2 button (or RT, presumably, if you’re on an Xbox). Doing so will bring up a list of special moves on the screen, which, depending on how much energy you have saved up, can deal massive amounts of damage to your enemies.

It’s these special moves that really make the characters come to life, and there’s something infinitely enjoyable about seeing Goku dish out massive attacks that will feel familiar to fans of his anime and manga outings. Using his biggest move even makes him go Super Saiyan, showing off a glowing second form that is bound to be a hit with his manifold admirers.

Certainly, as you’ll also find with Mortal Kombat and Injustice games, there’s a level of fun to be had by just flitting between characters and trying out all their special moves. This is basically what we did with our 90 minutes of gameplay, and we found that there are some really snazzy graphics at points, especially with the big-ticket moves. In fact, things get barmy and bombastic at regular intervals, and trying out these huge heavy hitters in conflict with your chums is bound to be a hoot.

The more you play, the more you’ll start to discover which characters really float your boat. Being most familiar with the Yu-Gi-Oh! and Dragon Ball Z side of things, we initially relished seeing Yugi Moto dishing out card-based attacks (including an epic dragon-summoning attack) and Goku dropping huge enemy balls on his iconic enemies.

But the more we played, the more we found other contenders for our affections: Ryo Saeba from City Hunter, who literally brought guns to a superpower fight, had a neat array of attacks including a really satisfying grenade launcher move. Dragon Shiryu and Pegasus Seiya, both from the Saint Seiya series, had cool armour and mystical attacks to match. Kaguya Ōtsutsuki from Naruto, meanwhile, had an entrancing floaty design and some surprisingly lethal moves.

Speaking of Naruto, the sand-based attacks at Gaara’s disposal seemed to be particularly rewarding to dish out, from his sneaky grab moves to a massive mausoleum-constructing special attack. There were also characters that looked really striking and unique, such as the ginormous pirate Marshall D. Teach, from the One Piece series, who unleashed some visually arresting onslaughts involving dark fruit.

Essentially, this was a really fun and varied roster to spend an hour and a half with. We’ve got a strong idea of who our top three choices would be for our tag team, and we look forward to testing our tactics against other players (as opposed to the tough-but-not-too-tough CPU settings we were up against in this preview).

As for nit-picks, we only have a few. The locations, although plentiful, didn’t feel particularly interactive. Compared to some of the smash-able and changeable locations we’ve seen in other fighting games franchises recently, Jump Force’s staging grounds felt a bit basic and static (although the battles within them were anything but).

There were also points at which the controls felt a bit fiddly. It could have just been us, but within 90 minutes we still hadn’t got to grips with effectively blocking (although the L1 quick-travel technique provided a handy dodge). We also found that it’s easy to get stuck in a string of combos that goes on for ages: while it’s fun to dish these out and see your enemies flail around hopelessly, it is frustrating when you get hit by the same sort of move and just have to watch your character get thrown around like a ragdoll for an indulgent amount of time. At these points, with the incessant attacks in full flow, the game’s yelp-heavy in-fight dialogue also became a bit grating.

But, for the most part, we did have a fun time with Jump Force’s Versus mode. Great mates who plan to play this game together should expect epic battles and familiar faces, along with a huge heap of eye-pleasing special moves. We’re looking forward to playing the full campaign and battling with other players, and we’ll be sure to bring you more thoughts once we have.

Jump Force is released in the UK for PS4, Xbox One and PC on 15 February.

Taika Waititi is a very busy man, but not too busy to be chatting to Marvel about doing another MCU instalment, it seems.

The beloved Kiwi director ragnarok’d up to FX’s TCA press tour this week to promote his new TV series, a spin-off of his cult classic mockumentary, What We Do In The Shadows, where he confirmed that he’s still in talks with Marvel about directing a new film in the never-ending Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Deadline revealed that upon being pressed for details about his plans for any further projects with Marvel, Waititi made sure to state categorically that he was absolutely not interested in taking over the helm of Guardians of the Galaxy 3 from ousted director James Gunn, but added “I’m still hanging out with those guys (Marvel) and talking about new stuff. I want to do another movie with them.”

Waititi was also asked if he had met with the studio about replacing Gunn at any point.

“I didn’t really. For me, those are James (Gunn)’s films. Going into something like that with his stamp all over his films, would be like going into someone’s house and saying ‘Hey, I’m your new dad, and this is how we make peanut butter sandwiches now. It feels kind of awkward.”

Waititi’s next film is the dark comedy Jojo Rabbit, which made it to the top spot of our 30 must-see movies in 2019, but in the midst of post-production he’s found time to direct an episode of Disney’s forthcoming Star Wars live-action TV series, The Mandalorian.

“It was amazing. [Jon] Favreau is a genius…it’s fun doing something in the Star Wars universe. It’s the strangest to see a stormtrooper, and then when you’re doing a scene with 50 or 60 of them, it’s amazing,” Waititi remarked, before tackling the issue of reining in his signature irreverent style when working on the show. “Star Wars is very different to the Marvel style. The tone of the first films really should be adhered to, it’s what the fans like. You can’t disrespect it. Definitely my tone is in there.”

This review contains spoilers.

1.4 Whose Blood Is That?

The Passage juggles a lot of plot threads this week, but it keeps all the balls in the air as it reveals the past and future of Anthony Carter. All this while dealing with a cracked-up NOAH agent on a shooting spree, which forces Wolgast and Richards to work together. The viral villains also make first contact with Amy in this thrilling episode.

The Carter-centric flashbacks reveal the heartbreaking story of how he ended up on Death Row, then as a NOAH candidate, and one of The Twelve. Actor McKinley Belcher III delivers a solid performance as the transforming Carter, going from the initial effects of the viral injection to being overtaken by the monster Fanning wants him to be. The sun is getting to him now, he’s rejecting food, and his lips twitch as a new fang starts to come in. Carter is haunted by his past with Rachel (Elizabeth Alderfer in an impressive role as a troubled, but an incredibly likeable woman). He thinks he deserves his fate for responding so badly when she revealed that she is married and in an abusive situation.

Carter is sweet, but naïve and blinded by guilt, and Fanning has been voyeuristically watching the man’s tragic memories on a loop. It is interesting seeing him play Carter in the dreamscape, using the truth to manipulate him. He tells the young man his anger is warranted – at being another black man framed for a crime he didn’t commit, and at himself for failing Rachel – but that Carter deserves power. As Fanning draws on the energy of the other virals to overload Carter’s system, he invites the young man to join the vampire family.

The transformation, culminating in the final scene where Carter “dies” and is reborn a bloodsucker, is effective. It is a believable turn, punctuated by a hulk-out horror moment. He has been an interesting character as he trades notes with Amy, but this pushes his story in a better direction. He essentially rejected Lear’s attempts to save his human side, but how much humanity is left in Carter? Though Lear warned Carter that Fanning is a master manipulator, actor Jamie McShane showed how good at being bad he can be (and it is foreboding to think how he is able to not only appear as a hallucination but invade memories).

One more Fanning note: He is so enjoyable to watch when he appears in his human form, but the veiny, pseudo-catatonic viral-Fanning is less interesting. He is doing a lot of work via nightmares and hallucinations and isn’t zoned out, but I hope to see viral-Fanning do more soon.

I mention this each week, but the dynamic between Wolgast and Amy continues to be the core of the show, and the light-and-breezy scenes of them connecting (over traditional father-daughter treehouse moments – which also involve surveillance) are fun.

It is nonetheless refreshing to see the girl interact with other characters. The scene between Amy and Babcock is menacing because Shauna can be so disarming in her human form, but her vampire boss has taught her some tricks regarding manipulation. Amy’s powers are developing – and Wolgast no doubt saw how fast she ran when escaping the rogue agent Paulson – and Babcock plants the seed that “The Agent” might not still care for the girl once she changes. Amy is such a smart kid (and she knows how to scam a pair of binoculars), and Saniyya Sidney’s performance is sharp without being annoyingly precocious. She is already onto Babcock and rejects her, but for how long? Similar to Fanning’s offer, Babcock invites Amy to join her new family and not to fight the transformation. Also, did you notice that her “true form” is still a lie?

Not content to manipulate a child, Babcock toys with Richards again this episode. Sure, she thanks him for not executing her last week, but she amps up his paranoia by alerting him of Sergeant Paulson’s knowledge. Paulson is cracking from having the viral David Winston in his head.

There is a little moment where Winston – who was on Death Row for gruesome murders – blankly stares at Paulson, and it conveyed how messed up it must be to have these virals forcing their way into a person’s head and making them see the horrors the inmates inflicted on others. It is quite the chilling beat.

Paulson decides to revolt by taking up a sniper post, and demanding a chopper out of the compound. Meanwhile, Richards silently cracks. He can’t allow the truth to be known that Babcock is inside him.

He needs to kill Paulson lest the sergeant tells Wolgast too much. Actually, Wolgast manages to learn a lot this week. His “let’s build a tree house” scheme (which was a nice way to get him and Amy out of the stuffy, white room) allows for some birds-eye-view surveillance beyond the compound. Plus, we learn Fanning doesn’t want the humans dead and instead needs them alive because the humans will let the virals out. But he only needs one more. And Wolgast now knows about Babcock in Richard’s head.

I wonder if Paulson’s question, “How do you know we’re not the lab rats?” will connect with Richards before it’s all finished. I suspect not. The walls are closing in on the head of NOAH security and he’s fighting a viral in his head while battling the suspicions of humans.

The NOAH pseudo-science stuff involving Lear and Fanning dragged a bit. The character knows the faeces is hitting the air conditioning and even discusses how humans may need to defend themselves against the new viral evolution. But he still needs a come-to-Jesus (or come to Dracula) moment where he’s like, “OK, we gonna die due to vampires.”

Maybe getting blood on his face at episode’s end will help with that. But, as Sykes asks, “Whose blood is that?” Though the episode title could also be related to the figurative blood of Rachel on Carter’s hand, Lear’s possible infection certainly counts as a big finale moment.

One final thought about this week’s story: the Lila and Lacey plot is not doing it for me yet, even if I really enjoy Kecia Lewis’ portrayal of the former nun/current badass. The Department of Defence is onto their attempts to blow the whistle on NOAH, which led to the death of super-reporter Sierra (who somehow assembled an entire investigative video package on the secret programme in a matter of days). But the subplot takes us out of the action too much when everything is happening in Colorado.

And would someone kill Dr Pet, already?

Read Aaron’s review of the previous episode, That Should Never Have Happened To You, here.